Seat with adjustable back rest



Dec. 15, 1953 J OZENNE SEAT WITH ADJUSTABLE BACK REST Filed June 10, 1949 IN V EN TOR.

Patented Dec. 15, 1953 UNITED i SEAT. W H ADJUSTABLI Q ACIQEE Gilbert J. Ozenne,Manhattiii' Be'aichfcafi signer to Deal: Aircraft Go'nopaiif;chic;

rance, Galii-Z, a-corporation:;of G v Allplittt iqli lunello,1949i- 3' Claims? (01. 1'55-"1-62 :rlTheap'resent invention relates to-animproved adjustingfmechanism for adjusting'th' back rests of lawn chairs, chaise longue's, and the'like;

An object of the present inventionrisyto pro? vide an improved back rest adjusting mechanism which securely locks the back rest of a lawn chair orv ch'a'ise'longue in any one of continuously ade justable positions characterized by the fact that the person on such chair or chaise longueima' y conveniently make such adjustment.

.Another object of thepresent invention. isvto provide anlimprove'd adjusting mechanismhaving the features mentioned in the preceding object, and also with the additionallfeature that there is alfollow-up action'resulting from'the movement of the back rest while it is being.ad justed which givesa very natural feel'to the related movements of the lock release handle associated with such mechanismand the backrest.

"Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved'mechanism'of this character, characterized by its-simplicity and ease of con struction in-accordance with present-dayma ss production methods and processes, and which may be installed alike on existing chairs-and lounges as well as innew constructions. I

A specific object of the present invention is to provide an improved backrest adjusting mechanism having a lock release handle conveniently accessible to a person on theasscciated lounge or chair, the position ofsuchhandle bin'grelated to the position of the back rest in such a manner that a follow-up action results. In bther'words, a user-may soon become accustomed to the positionwhich the back rest willassumeafter hehas moved the release handle toa' corresponding position. r H a.

The features of the present invention whiclrare believed to be novel are set forth withpa t' u; larity intheappended claims. This invention t- SBlfnbOlJh-ES to its organization and manner pf operation, together with further objects and ad; vantages thereof, may be best understood by reference to the following description taken in connection -with the accompanying drawing s or m. lc 7,, N: i. F igure =1-:isavicw-in-side elevation ot al lawn chair having mounted thereon the back rest adjusting and locking mechanism embodying features of the present invention,

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 2- 2 of Figure 1, and

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the manner in which the mechanism is mounted on the back rest and bed frame to achieve important re- '2 suits"--iibv' iiig"i from f present""invention; and ckirest' iind operating" handle shown 'erent'r ositi can: Testis aiiiustedzr: c y

R eierr fiig to th''drawing's, thereis'shown there in'a; lawn chair llli'com'prisi'rig 'al'bed'frame or seat portion lland'aisupport frameII'Z which is con venietft'l'w fastenedtoitheibed frame H on opposite"Sides tlieledfibyboltsjfiivts O'ithe like at the erases indicated by :thereferenc'e numeral 1 4 and which provide a pair of arm rests. 'Pivotally moufitedfeit: lfl orr"'the"bed frame .I l is the back l 5 which: is picked-fin different adjusted ons 'wi'th'respe'ct" to the "bed frame II and rt "1 2byi the novelzmech'anism having the gziefili-ef'erteime numeral I6 embodying features o'f the presentinventiom- The lawn chaiixis supported forwardly by the downward'ly"ibentfrlegs "0T the? support frame 12 contacting the ground, and at, the rear" of the lawn chair the support frame I2 i bent'dowm wardly*torotatably support j the ground enga ifiQ'WFils IBJTVJP' f 'Tlie adj'usting'and'idcking: mechanism [6 coinprises simplyiwhat T'tergn" a shaft 2H pivotally supported its" "upper: end on the pivot pin 2 l whichapasses :thro'ughand'is' supported on the backrestmember'fli, which may be of tubing. This shaft ZWpa'ssesthrOugh a slightly enlarged hole'2 ltinthe plate'fitwhichis pivotally mounted on'thepivotpin' ZG'pa'ssing'th'rOugh and aiiixed to; the bedffranie'memberiziIL This plate '25 has weldedwhe'r'et'cfa'control lockand release handle tiliwh'ich" extendsugenerally forwardly and downwardly witliirflespectitoithe "lawn: chair, and substa'ntially'"'alongi "th'ei'lfttsidei thereof in a convefnent'ly"accessiblev position for operation by a personreclinedon'thelawnchair. Thi a'pertufed p1'atei25 is "preferably biased downwardly trithe' clockwise direction in Figures Ji"and"3"by 'a torque springsfl'having" one of its ends" passing t'hrougfiair aperture" in the plate 25 and be'ri'tIto engage;the'uniierside"of the plate 25, and with th'eothef end-"(if .th'espring 33 disposed underneath-and contacting the underside of the tubing comprising the bed frame II, it being ndtedthat arr intbrrhediate'portiom of such wire spring 33 is coiled around the pivot pin 26.

The nature of the connection between the shaft 20 and the plate 25 is a frictional one and results from a binding of the shaft 20 in the slightly enlarged hole 24 in the plate 25. When the plane of the plate 25 is perpendicular to the axis of the shaft 20, the shaft 20, of course, is free to move through the apertured plate 25.

However, when the plane ofthe plate25 is out of quadrature with respect to the axis of the shaft 20, the shaft 20 binds in the apertured plate 25 to thereby lock the attached back rest I in a definite corresponding locked position. The continuance of this locked condition is assured by the torque spring 33 which tends to move the plate 25 into further binding or locking position. Assuming that it is desired to lower the back rest to a lower position, it is simply necessary to raise the handle 30 upwardly, in which case the shaft is free to move downwardly through the apertured plate but, while the back rest 15 is thus lowered, the angularity of the shaft 29 changes with respect to the plane of the plate 25, and this change in angularity is such that the shaft again will lock into the apertured plate 25, unless, of course, the handle 30 is moved to compensate for the resulting angularity of the shaft 20.

It is quite apparent, from the inspection of Figure 3, that there is a definite correlation between the position of the back rest 15 and the corresponding position of the handle 30 for any given locked position of the back rest 15, so that a user may readily become accustomed to the amount of movement to be imparted to the handle 30 to produce the desired inclination of the back rest 15. In other Words, the back rest I5 follows up the movement of the control handle 30.

While the particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention in its broader aspects and, therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention. V

I claim:

1. In a chair or lounge of the character described, a horizontal frame member, a friction member pivotally mounted on said frame member, a back rest pivotally mounted on said frame member, a shaft having one of its ends pivotally mounted on said back rest with the body of said shaft passing through a friction aperture in said friction member pivotally mounted on said frame, and a manually operable lever rigidly attached to said friction member and extending below a side of said frame member where it is conveniently accessible to an occupant of said chair or lounge to change its position to break the frictional connection between said shaft and said friction aperture, said friction member and attached lever being movable to different positions corresponding to different adjusted positions of said back rest whereby said lever follows the motion of said back rest and the position of the lever serves as an indication of the position of the back rest, said attached lever extending forwardly of the pivoting axis of said friction member whereby said lever is required to be moved upwardly to allow said back rest to descend.

2. In a chair or lounge of the character described, a horizontal frame, a back rest pivotally mounted on said frame, an apertured friction plate pivotally mounted on said frame, a cooper ating shaft passing through said friction aperture and having one of its ends pivotally connected to said back rest, a torque spring having one of its ends abutting said frame and the other one of its ends abutting said friction plate to normally bias said friction plate in engagement with said shaft passing therethrough, and a manually operable handle connected to said friction plate and extending below a side of said frame member where it is conveniently accessible to an occupant of said chair or lounge to move said friction plate out of engagement with said shaft passing therethrough, said friction plate and attached handle being movable to different positions corresponding to different adjusted positions of said back rest whereby said handle follows the motion of said back rest and the position of said handle serves as an indication of the position of the back rest, and said handle extending forwardly of the pivoting axis of said friction plate and movable upwardly to allow said back rest to lower.

3. In a chair or lounge of the character described, a generally rectangular horizontal frame comprising a seat portion, a support frame having a ground engaging member and an arm rest, a back rest, means pivotally supporting said back rest on said seat portion, a friction member, means pivotally supporting said friction member on said seat portion, the last mentioned means comprising a fastening bolt which passes through said seat portion and said support frame, a shaft having one of its ends pivotally mounted on said back rest with the body of said shaft passing through a friction aperture in said friction member, a manually operable lever rigidly attached to said friction member and extending forwardly along and below said seat portion, where it is conveniently accessible to an occupant of said chair or lounge to change its position to break the frictional connection between said shaft and saidfriction aperture, said friction member and attached lever being movable to different positions corresponding to different adjusted positions of said back rest, whereby said lever follows the motion of said back rest and the position of the lever serves as an indication of the position of the back rest, said attached lever extending forwardly of the pivoting axis of said friction member whereby said lever is required to be moved upwardly to allow said back rest to descend.

GILBERT J. OZENNE. 

